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Amalfi or Capri excursion?

I'd like to get an advise on the choice of shore excursion with Royal Caribbean when it docks in Sorento, Italy. Is it better to take a 10.5 hours shore excursion with the following destination: resort isle of Capri and Sorrento and the ruins of ancient Pompeii or a 9.5 hours shore excursion that includes bus drive along Amalfi coastal area, and take a walking tour in Amalfi continue with a visit to the ruins of ancient Pompeii.
Thank you.

If it were me, I'd either go to Pompeii on my own (hiring a guide at the site or by booking a private excursion), or I'd take the much cheaper ferry from Sorrento. You could take a bus back to port so you get the drive and don't waste time on it both ways. You could also take a ferry to Capri, though I'd choose either Pompeii or the Amalfi coast, but not both.

But I have to say that I'm not a particular fan of these "do everything" excursions. Pompeii is an exhausting, albeit rewarding, trip in the summer when it's so hot and is best seen in the early morning. A trip to the Amalfi coast would be more relaxing, so while it's tempting to try to do everything, I think you'll enjoy yourself more if you don't.

Thank you Doug. Unfortunately, the ship will dock in Sorento just for one day. I don't have any choice other than visiting as many places as possible even though it will wear me down. I might not have any chance to visit the same place in the future. But I will take your advice and might just stick to the 2nd option instead and find other fellow cruisers to hire a private excursion. Theresa

Depending on the cruise line, you probably have the option to book a private excursion through the cruise line, and this often does not cost you anything (or at least not much) extra. You'd still want to find others to share in the cost, but this is something you can often do on the ship.

We did this last summer in Turkey; my group booked a private van with driver and guide to take us to Ephesus from Izmir, and we had a very enjoyable day of it even though it was a longish day. By booking through the ship, we were able to disembark early, and the ship guaranteed departure after our return.

If you insist on trying to do everything in a single day, then I'd do Pompeii and the Amalfi coast rather than Pompeii and Capri. I think you'll enjoy the trip more, and getting to Capri takes up far too much time ... you'll end up shorting yourself too much on Pompeii (at least that's my opinion). I'd encourage you to go into the Europe forums and ask. There are a lot of excellent, well-traveled Italy experts there, and they can help you make better choices than I can. Just prepare to be yelled at for trying to do too much; that's true, but it's what you want.

I had booked a Capri tour through Celebrity. But the sea was too choppy and the hydrofoil was canceled. Ended up losing 2 hours of precious time. I remember thinking I should have taken the safe bet - Pompeii and Amalfi Coast because it does not depend on the sea conditions.

I joined cruise critic roll call for Serenade of the Seas. It seems almost all who join in are elderly couple or those with children and don't like to take a 8.30 hour or longer tours. None of them interested in taking rigorous shore excursions. Although the tour groups that they selected offer much lower fare, all of them only take shorter time and less places to visit. So I ended up reserve shore excursions offered by Royal Caribbean even though they are much more expensive. At least I can visit more places with 10.30 hour tours. I certainly will take 10.30 hour tour of Amalfi and Pompeii as you all suggested. Thanks for all of your suggestions.

We have never done a ships shore excursion, but we have docked in Naples twice and here's my personal opinion. It's also what we did! The 1st time we just got off the ship and took a taxi to Pompeii. We used ear phones, but if my DH had been willing there were many guides standing outside looking for tourists. I didn't like the headphones and would pay for a guide if I could do it again. Headphones don't answer your questions!

After visiting the ruins we crossed thestreet and took a 20 min. Train ride to Sorrento. You CAN"T get lost. There are many other cruisers doing the same thing! We had a lovely luch off the main square. Ithink it was called Lantera or Lantana, something like that. Lots of fresh seafood. Then we shopped a little, people watched over wine and made our way down about 10 stories to the beach so we could take the Hydrofoil back to the Ship. Perfect perfect day. La Dolce Vita!

Our 2nd cruise with a Naples stop, we hired a private guide & driver for almost $500.00 My DH thought I was nuts but we found 2 couples on the Ship willing to share our Mercedes Van and that made the all day trip much more reasonable. He picked us up soon after we docked and drove to the farthest point (for us) on the Amalfi Coast. It was a hill top town and we started with wine tasting. Yup, it was morning, but the soil is very ashy because of Vesuvius, so the wine was "special". Ha! Then we worked our way down and back visiting all these charming towns & villages for shopping, lunch, views, and tutorials about what we were looking at. The roads were scary and (frankly)there was no way I was getting on a BIG bus or letting my DH drive. The day went by very fast although it was 9 hours long. If you love it, you'll find a way to go back and see more, but if you try to cram everything into the 1 day, you just feel exhausted and spaced out by all you saw & did. Savor it. Choose Amalfi or Sorrento & Pompeii. I didn't go to Capri because I had no desire to see it.